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Conservatorium of Music
What an interesting building! I had always noticed the Castle-like building at the top of Bridge Street, but I was surprised that such an imposing building was commissioned by Governor Macquarie to house his horses and Mrs Macquarie’s pet cow.
Francis Greenway designed the stables and servants’ block on the mill site. Greenway based his design on two castles in Scotland and the original building was arranged around an open exercise yard for the horses.
Today there is a beautiful blend of old and new. It was quite an architectural challenge to create a working Conservatorium and to open up vistas of the Botanic Gardens and the original Greenway stables. A truly interesting building. We were treated to a free Saxophone Concert, consisting of a number of pieces some of which had been composed by the students. The students’ performance was excellent.
Guide Dogs, Glossodia Tour
This was an adventure! There had been a bit of a mix up with Hopkinson’s Tours. However, it turned out to be a really wonderful day. Guide Dogs NSW/ACT exists to enhance the quality of life of people who are blind or have impaired vision, by assisting in their achievement of independence through access and mobility. We were taken to tour the facilities b
  sting day.
Macquarie Cemetery Tour
What an interesting place, there were three tours arranged for members, one day tour and the other two at night. I have heard that the evening tour was terrific and I am sure that host, Tom Sweeney played the part magnificiently. The day tour was very interesting, even if it lacked the atmosphere of the night. The weather was very overcast and we had a few showers, but Tom provided us with two golf cart vehicles with blinds, and we were transported around in style. Thanks Gail for arranging this outing, we had a really enjoyable day and heard many fascinating stories.
Careflight Dinner
A lovely evening, and interesting visit to the Base with the Doctor, Ambulance Medic & Pilots joining us at the dinner tables.
It was fascinating to listen to accounts of their experiences, not the least was one from their past week, when an unrestrained baby was thrown through the back window of a crashing vehicle to be found a distance away, on the road, unharmed. Mary Poppins
A beautiful day to meet friends and enjoy a show, and what a show - it was just perfect. The music, actors, dancing, all made up an unforgettable experience. Better than the Disney version - the choreography was excellent especially the chimney sweep scene. It was simply supercalifragilexplialidocious! An excellent show - thanks go to Margaret for arranging this outing.
Police Museum
 The gruesome and macarbe details of notorious crimes such as the Pyjama Girl case and the Grahame Thorne kidnapping as well as original objects gathered from an assortment of legendary bushranges were on display. We also saw the ASIO files - a time which it seems everyone was a suspect and filmed. Above is a picture of some suspicious characters on the day. This was a really enjoyable day .
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Tour of the State Theatre
This a tour everyone should do! A fascinating place. The Theatre was lavishly designed by Sydney architect, Henry Eli White who based his work on that of American architect John Eberson and invited John Eberson to work with him on the theatre in Australia. What a magnificient place - the building is listed on the Register of National Estate. Our Members reported they enjoyed the tour - thanks go to John Withers for organising this outing.
 This fabulous show lived up to its reputation. This is a regular event with NSA Parramatta and we havent been disappointed yet. It was simply fabulous. Thanks go to Maggie for the tickets. Free Concert - A Naval Salute
Warwick Hale reported that this was a spectacular evening. Held at the Recital Hall, Angel Place in the City. The seating was good and the performance by the Navy Band was superb. A really good night. Thanks go to John Withers for the information about this concert.
Christmas in July
This wa
 s a most unusual Christmas In July, in fact it turned out to be Elvis and the Vegas Dancers - but what a night!
  Hoppy's July Mystery Tour
A mystery no longer our Members were treated to a delightful day out on the South Coast/Illawarra Area. The scenery was spectacular, the lunch was delicious and the coach driver's knowledge of the history of the area was second to none. A great day out was had by all. Blue Mountains Radio Plays
What better way to spend a cold, rainy, afternoon. Some of us travelled by train and some by car to the Mountain Heritage Hotel. There was a wonderful lunch followed by the radio plays. This is surely one the best entertainment one could ask for and to top it off there was scones, jam and cream for afters. The players performed magnificantly, the two plays, 'Murder in the Casbah' with that superb detective Sherlock Holmes and 'The Great McGinty' by Preston Sturgess. These wonderful actors take us back to the days when we all sat round glued to radio. A wonderful day was had by all. This is surely going to be an annual event for NSA Parramatta Members, we will make sure it is on our calendar for next year.
Thanks Tom - this was a winner!
Bundanoon/Brigadoon, Southern Highlands
This was a fantastic day. Scotland with a 'wee' bit of Aussie flavour. An early morning start at 6.30 am made sure everyone was there in good time for the street parade and all the events of the day. A wonderful day was had by all and we are looking to put this outing on our calendar for next year.
Thanks go to Tom for arranging an excellent outing.
Club Crawl Breakfast
Margaret arranged a wonderful champagne breakfast and although it was a miserable, cold morning, twelve intrepid members turnined up to partake of a delicious breakfast.
Thanks Margaret - a great morning function. Small Arms Factory/Mount Piper Power Station - Lithgow
This was our first mid-week bus trip for 2011 and I must say it was a great success. 24 members enjoyed perfect weather for the trip and saw and learned about many interesting things. The tours started at the Power Station and it was just so immense and sooo clean. The state-of-the-art design and technology makes Mt Piper a byword in safe efficient, environmentally clean energy production - and we saw how it all worked.
Amazing!
 Following a delicious lunch at Lithgow Workers we adjjourned to the Small Arms Factory - and what an interesting place. All the "boys" in our party seemed to find it extremely interesting and enjoyed the guns of every type and description. The girls enjoyed it too - especially the section on the appliances, sewing machines and various items that you would not expect an Arms factory to produce.
All in all a great day was had by all.
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